FEMA Flood Maps

A property in a flood plain is often required by lenders to carry expensive flood insurance. Homeowners on properties in the flood plain should take necessary actions to protect their interests.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently developed new flood plain maps for the portion of the City of East Lansing in Clinton County. These maps identify several formerly exempt properties as being in the flood plain. Some properties are only partly in the flood plain and may be able to avoid flood insurance requirements by obtaining a letter of map revision that establishes that the building elevation is higher than the flood elevation. A letter of map revision request must demonstrate that an engineer has established that no part of the building is within the flood plain and must be approved by FEMA.

Purpose of the Maps
The maps were developed to discourage development in areas likely to experience significant flooding. The areas included in the flood plain have a 26% chance of experiencing a flood in a 30-year period. FEMA hopes to mitigate costly disaster responses through the flood program.